AROUND the NBA: Lakers Fire Darvin Ham

[SleepingHero]

Man...I have gotten flack for criticizing Giannis' game in the past...but I truly do like the person.  Seems like a genuinely good dude.

But damn that ladder situation is so on him.  Its just overboard having to shoot free throws AFTER a game.  I get it...perception is everything.  But this is going overboard.  Its unnecessary unless you are trying to win "good guy" points.  Its Tim Teebow territory as far as cringe.

The whole situation should never have happened.   Just go to a 24 hour fitness and shoot free throws where no one is around and working and you dont have people "hating" you like me claiming this was a stunt to win "good guy" points.   Just go practice on your own somewhere.

I don't think I agree with you here. Why can't Giannis shoot FT's in the arena after the game? Why is it cringe that a player actually understands playing basketball is his job and he decided to get some extra work in?

An excerpt of the Athletic describing the story and the altercation between Harrell and Giannis:

 https://theathletic.com/3912361/2022/11/19/bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-montrezl-harrell-altercation/

PHILADELPHIA – A bizarre scene unfolded inside Wells Fargo Center on Friday night after the 76ers’ 110-102 win over the Bucks, in which Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetkounmpo tried to shoot extra foul shots after a terrible game and an opposing player interrupted by taking the ball and refusing to give it back.

Antetokounmpo, a two-time league MVP, was a dismal 4-of-15 from the charity stripe during the game, which was the worst performance from the line of his career. He returned to the court as the 19,769 fans were filing out, and, after some trouble finding a ball to shoot, took seven practice free throws and made them all.

That’s when things got weird. Sixers bench player Montrezl Harrell came over to where Giannis was shooting, took the ball and stood in the corner.

“This isn’t f—— Milwaukee,” Harrell barked at Antetokounmpo, as witnessed by The Athletic. “Get that s— out of there.”

Antetokounmpo, according to witnesses, offered to Harrell to join him in the shooting drill, and when he wouldn’t, pleaded for the return of the ball. A Sixers’ staff member who had accompanied Harrell, skills coach Jordan Love, then stood between the two players and told Antetokounmpo he could not have the ball back, and could not shoot on the court.

Antetokounmpo left the court and returned with two basketballs. Only when he came back, a Wells Fargo Center employee pushed a large, A-frame ladder in front of the hoop where Giannis was shooting. Antetokounmpo asked the man to move the ladder so he could finish his shooting, and twice the man said no.

Now angry at the surprising circumstances he was facing, Giannis attempted to push the ladder out of the way, and it tipped over, crashing onto the court.

As Antetokounmpo took a few more practice shots, Harrell was at the other end of the court, shooting and screaming back toward the Bucks’ side.

“Yeah I took the ball, get the f— outta here,” Harrell said, as Giannis shouted from his end: “I’m doing my f—— job.”

Antetokounmpo left the court for good, but his brother, Milwaukee teammate Thanasis Antetokounmpo, walked to midcourt to speak to Harrell. The Sixers’ reserve center threatened Thanasis, saying at separate times “I’ll beat your a–” and “you better send that s— back to the locker room.”

“I never try to disrespect anyone, in any way shape or form. I feel like today was just unfortunate event that took place,” Giannis said, an hour after the incident. “I think people did not respect the fact that sometimes players want to get some extra work in. It might be three, five, seven, whatever the case may be. I think it’s unprofessional to kick somebody off the court or take the ball or whatever the case might be. Or put the ladder in front of somebody while he’s trying to do his job. We get paid to do this. They didn’t just pick us. We get paid.”

[sefant]

Donovan Mitchell has only had a positive On/Off in 3 out of 5 years (not including this one cause season isn't over yet).

Just saying a lot more matters than a stat that dictates team trends. If anything Lavine has been playing out of position the last 2 years with DeRozan there. Him next to Luka (and McGee   ) would be a monstrous backcourt.

Lavine is in the Trae Young tier of defense for me, and no one can convince me otherwise. His D is worse than SD, THJ, Brunson or Wood. Eyetest and stats. His defensive metrics got a little better with Caruso.

Bulls fans kinda thinking the same. Which is usually a bad sign.

Even last season when he played well on offense, his total +/- during the entire season was -37. Show me another "star" on a playoff team with those total numbers during a season.

"Guess how many charges Zach has taken in his entire Bulls career? ONE. One fucking charge lol. You can’t win with that."

"Rose wasn't a Lockdown defender or anything but I certainly don't remember him as the ultra athletic traffic cone Zach is. It's uncanny how a guy can have so many physical tools and just flat out suck at defense"   

damn this is sad, i think Zach is just done. This delusional attitude is how a lot of elite athletes act when they just dont have it anymore. Rose was the same when he first came back, obviously to a bigger extent. Its like they cant admit any decline in play or they risk losing all their confidence as well along with the athleticism.

Giving up assets and maybe even depth for that. God damn

[SleepingHero]

https://streamable.com/8mcqp1


https://streamable.com/qyqo64

[SleepingHero]

Lavine is in the Trae Young tier of defense for me, and no one can convince me otherwise. His D is worse than SD, THJ, Brunson or Wood. Eyetest and stats. His defensive metrics got a little better with Caruso.

Bulls fans kinda thinking the same. Which is usually a bad sign.

Even last season when he played well on offense, his total +/- during the entire season was -37. Show me another "star" on a playoff team with those total numbers during a season.

His D might be as bad as THJ/SD/Brunson/Wood, but his offense is in another stratosphere. He's exactly the kind of offensive 2-guard you'd want next to Luka. 

I was a big opponent for trading for Wiggins when he was on MIN because I thought his stats were empty (and he also too had a poor defensive reputation), and as soon as he got to the Warriors playing the correct position, everything fell into place.

Lavine would be a major addition to this team and we should be so lucky if the Mavs got him for whatever trash package they can cobble together.

[dirkfansince1998]

https://streamable.com/8mcqp1


https://streamable.com/qyqo64

4/11 and 4/15 from the line in the last two games. Even Giannis can get frustrated.

[dynamicalVoid]

Its completely unnecessary and leads outsiders without full understanding of the situation to suggest its "attention seeking".

Just go shoot free throws somewhere else, on your own, away from people working.   No need to make it known you are going overboard as an employee and professional.

[cow]

Giannis was doing his 10 makes in a row routine when Harrell told Giannis to get off the court.  Giannis asked to make three more and when he took his eighth shot, Harrell took the ball and headed back to the locker room.  Giannis went and retrieved two more balls from the locker room and when he returned, the stadium crew had a ladder in front of the basket.  

Did Giannis overreact?  Sure.  Did Harrell and the 76ers crew fuck with him?  Sure.  This is one of the few negative things we've ever heard about Giannis who seems saintly compared to most.  I'm willing to give him a massive pass on this one.

[Not an evil robot]

Its completely unnecessary and leads outsiders without full understanding of the situation to suggest its "attention seeking".

Just go shoot free throws somewhere else, on your own, away from people working.   No need to make it known you are going overboard as an employee and professional.

This is a dumb take. You’re putting the responsibility on the player to hide the work so it doesn’t seem like showing off to you. Just because something is visible doesn’t mean it’s “attention seeking”, regardless of edgelords who treat everything that could be filmed as 100% performative.

[dynamicalVoid]

This is a dumb take. You’re putting the responsibility on the player to hide the work so it doesn’t seem like showing off to you. Just because something is visible doesn’t mean it’s “attention seeking”, regardless of edgelords who treat everything that could be filmed as 100% performative.

I still give the pass to the employees who were paid to be on that court at the time and most likely not working on a 100+ mil contract.

Sure...Giannis was "working" too...but past his required duty.  The floor crew on the other hand...they were paid to do a job at the time Giannis wasnt being paid to do his "job".

Yelling at a floor crew who MOST LIKELY gets paid 600 times less than you is a bit gnarly to me.

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status...1936778240

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1594094406998851584

[Not an evil robot]

I still give the pass to the employees who were paid to be on that court at the time and most likely not working on a 100+ mil contract.

Sure...Giannis was "working" too...but past his required duty.  The floor crew on the other hand...they were paid to do a job at the time Giannis wasnt being paid to do his "job".

Yelling at a floor crew who MOST LIKELY gets paid 600 times less than you is a bit gnarly to me.

Agreed, never a good look for a millionaire to do the equivalent of yelling at a waiter. But that wasn’t your original assertion, now was it?

[dynamicalVoid]

Agreed, never a good look for a millionaire to do the equivalent of yelling at a waiter. But that wasn’t your original assertion, now was it?

Giannis' inability to read a room because he was blinded by needing to stroke his "good guy" image lead to him barking at the waiter.  Maybe not said directly...but it was certainly part of the idea behind my post which is why I mentioned it.

Giannis went weird...which lead to all of this.

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status...9064663041

Christian Wood should be saying this.

[DallasMaverick]

https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status...9064663041

Christian Wood should be saying this.

A little humility goes a long way...

[Kammrath]

A little humility goes a long way...

Yep and if Kidd had one penny's worth this team would be atop the West.

[Mavs2021]

So who is the NBA reporter that will get blacklisted for having the balls to point out that the Lakers are about to be 3-1 without LeBron and 2-9 with him.

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/statu...9790419969

[dirkfansince1998]

Buy low windows for a lot of guys are closing.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/statu...6992558081

https://twitter.com/PeakRT_/status/1594551733572755457

https://twitter.com/kings_muse/status/15...2650151936

https://twitter.com/DominickNBA/status/1...2809774080

I don´t really like any of them but in the end they are vastly more talented than some of the guys many of us are reluctant to include in a trade.

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine/status/...6014990336